113th Congress: Ted Yoho, R-Fla (3rd District)

By Ashley Kongs, CQ Staff

Ted Yoho, a tea-party-affiliated Republican who narrowly defeated 12-term Rep. Cliff Stearns in the August primary, believes his professional background offers the training necessary to solving both the nation’s and the chamber’s problems.

A small-business owner and veterinarian, Yoho characterizes his approach to finding solutions as being much the same as a medical approach to illness: Problems are presented, a diagnosis is made and a treatment is formulated.

His agenda is focused on shrinking the federal government, ensuring fiscal responsibility, protecting free enterprise and personal responsibility and removing regulatory and tax barriers to job creation and economic growth.

He believes the country has lost its way, and that the sentiment among Americans is that career politicians led the way to the country’s broken system.

Among his more specific prescriptions: implementation of a consumption tax to replace the personal income tax, a reduction in corporate income tax rates, enactment of a constitutional amendment limiting congressional terms, disbanding the Energy Department, construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and an immigration overhaul that includes national ID cards and English becoming the official language.

With his background in large animal veterinary medicine and the agricultural nature of his district, Yoho believes he could serve his constituents well on the Agriculture Committee.